School Budgetary Needs Assessment

School Budgetary Needs Assessment 1
School Budgetary Needs Assessment
Shayla O. Williams
Grand Canyon University
EAD-510
June 14, 2023

Part One
At the start of each academic school year Richland School District One distributes the
official budget for each school operating that year. Principals have the power and authority to
allocate funds for their stakeholders, committees, supplies, equipment, and other budgetary
school needs. Title I funding must be allocated separately, but is able to be used to supplement
other struggling accounts with less funds. However, Title I funds must meet certain criteria and
be verified by the Title I department at the district level and the State Department of Education.
Administrators in the school are responsible for upholding the mission and vision of the
school by providing high quality and properly funded education for all stakeholders in the
building, including faculty, staff, students, parents and community members. The budget should
be allocated in such a way as to supply teachers with the resources needed to administer daily
rigorous lessons to students. The budget should be allocated in a way that enriches student
experiences and provides new learning opportunities beyond the classroom curriculum. The
budget should also support the systematic and logistical activity of each day. Supplies for
bathrooms, resources for cleanliness and sanitation, and supplies for operation must be written
into the budget as well.
The school has two major three major budgets from which to spend, including: the capital
budget, the Title I budget, and the M.O. budget for maintenance and operations. The Capital
budget is used for building repairs, upgrades, and school improvements. The maintenance and
operations budget is allocated for teacher and staff salaries. Title I funding is strictly and
specifically designed to fund financial assistance to local educational agencies for children from
low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards.
Learner needs must are also reflected in the budget. The needs of all students are
considered, and if one group of students are in need of more financial support than another, then
the budget spending should reflect that consideration and allocate for minority groups as well.
Parents and guardian representation must be reflective of the diversity in the student population.
Among these minority populations to be considered in funding are parents of students who speak
English as a second language, have special needs or special gifts and talents, and students who
have come from a various socioeconomic situations (Sorenson and Goldsmith 2018).
Other stakeholders essential to the budgeting process are the R1 district office finance
team, principal and administrators, and support team. The financial needs of the school were
identified based on the data from the previous year’s test scores. For example, learning gaps and
inconsistencies in math suggests that financial support is needed in that area for resources that
support teachers in math. In this instance, Title 1 funding could be used to hire an onsite
counselor as well as purchase and implement a differentiated math program.
Based on the Needs Assessment Survey, the school leadership team shows a need for
improvement in the areas of proper fund allocation, utilizing and maximizing available
resources, and balancing the time and funding for activities outside the classroom. Teachers and
staff are worried about the funds of the budget being spent properly and on the resources needed.
Contrarily, the faculty and staff also seem to want the resources in the building to be used more
effectively and efficiently before purchasing new programs and resources. Finally, the faculty
and staff want to see a more well-balanced extracurricular activity program written into the
school budget.
Administering this survey, collecting data, and collaborating with faculty and staff about
the implementation and allocation of the budget is an experience supported by the Professional
Standards for Educational Leaders, standard ten, which outlines that effective leaders are catalyst
for change for continuous improvement in the school and community. Standard ten states that the
effective educational leader is constantly advocating for student academic success and well-
being through the promotion of new opportunities and improvement (National Policy Board for
Educators). Conducting the Needs Assessment Survey and reviewing the validity of the budget
as it compares to the “an ongoing process of evidence-based inquiry, learning, strategic goal
setting, planning, implementation, and evaluation for continuous school and classroom
improvement” validates the PSEL standards and the use of the survey. As an administrator who
feeds new and continuous information to the rest of the school community, constantly focusing
on improvement, growth will cannot be obtained or sustained through the school for student
academic success.
Conducting Educational Needs Assessments states, “Educators must deal with students,
communities, and social institutions that are dynamic, resulting in changing needs. It is in the
context of attempting to be responsive to these changes, and to the many wishes and needs that
schools are asked to address, that needs assessment can be useful” (Stufflebeam 2012).
As a school administrator I will be sure to incorporate the school’s stakeholders into the
allocation and planning of the year’s budget. I will continue to administer needs-based surveys
and review the outcome of those documents to help develop a plan based on the feedback given.
The development and implementation of the budget will be a team effort, using a well-establish
committee composed of school and community stakeholders. The budget shall be a living, ever-
changing document based on the needs of the school and the students, faculty, and staff therein.
Part Two
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BFDMDVM
Resources
National Policy Board for Educational Administration (2015). Professional Standards for
Educational Leaders 2015. Reston, VA: Author
Sorenson, R. D., & Goldsmith, L. M. (2018). The Principal’s Guide to School Budgeting.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Stufflebeam, D. L., McClormick, C. H., Brinkerhoff, R. O., & Nelson, C. O. (2012). Conducting
Educational Needs Assessments. N.p.: Springer Science & Business Media.

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School Budgetary Needs Assessment 1

School Budgetary Needs Assessment

Grand Canyon University

June 14, 2023

into the budget as well.

counselor as well as purchase and implement a differentiated math program.

Educational Leaders 2015. Reston, VA: Author

Sorenson, R. D., & Goldsmith, L. M. (2018). The Principal’s Guide to School Budgeting.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Stufflebeam, D. L., McClormick, C. H., Brinkerhoff, R. O., & Nelson, C. O. (2012). Conducting

Educational Needs Assessments. N.p.: Springer Science & Business Media.

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